Growing up in Never Land
by kt96
Summary: Tiger Lily has always had feelings for the charming red headed boy, but she never gave in. She refused to be another one of those girls in Neverland who Peter (unintentionally) had wrapped around his finger. She was Princess Tiger Lily... but things began to change when a certain Wendy-bird comes flying into Neverland.
1. Prologue

Hey guys, this is my first fic so I'm really excited. Please review, constructive criticism is apprieciated, thanks! oh and I do not own Peter Pan or any of the characters. They belong to disney.

* * *

Today the boy who never grew up returns to Neverland. The figure darts past the trees silently, careful not to wake the woodland creatures still in their slumber. In the distance, he sees the treehouse. Perching himself onto a branch, he decides against waking the boys and glides over the forest canopy toward Mermaid Lagoon. The azure water glistened with hints of pink and green as the sun began to rise – and just like that the usually serene mermaid lagoon takes a breath of life.

"Oh my, Peter's here!" "Oh, hello Peter!" "Hello Peter!" "Where have you been all this while?"

Not that it isn't always vibrant and full of life anyway.

"Hey girls!" Peter grins and crosses his legs in the air. "Sorry it's been a while, I've been taking more trips to the human world, and whenever I was here, the lost boys and I have been burying new lost treasure!"

The crystal clear water is broken with consecutive splashes; He sees three more mermaids enthusiastically diving into the water towards him. A slender, delicate mermaid previously washing her golden hair by the waterfall glances over her shoulder.

"We missed you Peter!"

Another, this time a raven haired beauty, confidently swims over to the rock Peter just landed on,

"Did you miss us?"

"You should really spend more time with us Peter..."

"One day you have to have a treasure hunt we can participate in!"

The mermaids murmur excitedly, one of them flips in the water.

"Yeah, an underwater treasure hunt!"

"We want to be part of your adventures too!"

Peter jumps to his feet. "That's a great idea girls! … But first I need to teach the lost boys how to swim underwater. They only know how to float."

The mermaids sigh, dismayed at the constant setbacks in their attempts to spend more quality time with Peter. The raven haired mermaid now by the waterfall cuts the water beneath with her tail in a fluid entrancing motion, a suggestive smile playing in her eyes. "What about we teach you how to swim today… I'm sure you could use some practice"

Peter rubs the back of his head, "I don't know… that might take too long, I still need to get to the lost boys." Most of the mermaids try not to seem upset, Peter only visited so much, and they wanted to make him want to keep returning. Despite that Peter did not miss their subtle change in demeanor, a mermaid beside him putting on a stiff upper lip. "Tell you what, I just collected a bunch of new stories from the human world, wanna hear them?"

The mermaids perk back up. They settle onto their favorite rock formations in their lagoon, but leaving some nice rocks for Peter. Peter lands on a rock the mermaids like to call Pride Rock. It was very nicely shaped for one who wanted to stand with pride. He postures himself, chest out, a leg perched higher than the other and then curls his finger into a hook. "Listen carefully girls, here we have the story of how the Captain – Arrrrrr! Met Mr Smee… You know, Mr Smee actually saved Captain Hook! And it all began on the Crook Island…" Suddenly Peter hears familiar high pitched chimes calling out to him; the boys must have woken up. Tinker bell wouldn't like the sight of him with the mermaids either. For what reason? He'll never know. Either way, best not to keep Tink waiting. Peter picks up his hat that was now floating in the water. "Gotta go ladies, I promise to finish that story and tell you more of them as soon as I can!" The mermaids sigh at his departure but wave enthusiastically,

"Goodbye Peter!" "We'll miss you" "Take care!"

Peter Pan. You can't help but love him – if you're a girl in Neverland. That applies to both Neverland residents, and the occasional human that visits. That boyish charm is something all the girls fall for when they are in Neverland. Also, he's the only male that is not a grown manchild – like Hook, or too much of a child – like his lost boys, supposedly perfect for crushing on. Still, Peter Pan is oblivious to that, he hasn't really felt a strong attraction to anyone, even though girls fawn and practically throw themselves at him. Well, almost all girls.

Peter cuts through the air creating a greater distance between him and the Mermaid Lagoon before calling out to Tinkerbell. "Tink!" A shimmering trail of pixie dust appears, seemingly out of nowhere encircling him before landing on his shoulder. Tinkerbell crosses her arms, pouting at Peter Pan. She struggles to avoid toppling over, as Peter shrugged his shoulders. He knew she wasn't too happy about having to stay with the boys instead of accompanying him to Neverland. "I'm sorry, Tink, you know I couldn't leave the boys behind alone when half of them is sick with the Hog Flu" The fairy blows at her fringe in mock indignation before sitting down on Peter's shoulder. She thinks her reward is a free ride back to the tree house. Peter pats her head with his finger, before placing a thimble in front of her. A Lost thing. Tinkerbell gleams at the sight of it thanking Peter with her chimes and two affectionate pats on his shoulder as she sits, her other arm wrapped around her lost thing. With Tinkerbell seated on his shoulder, Peter heads towards the tree house, briefly acknowledging the pillar of smoke now visible against the pale morning.

Northwest to Mermaid Lagoon, the Indian camp. The Indians were often the earliest risers in the island. They must have had begun their morning routine; having a lovely breakfast at dawn. Most human child visitors loved taking a peek, especially the younger boys. They were especially fun to watch and play with, sometimes, more so than the Lost Boys themselves. The Indian and lost boy rivalry goes far back, often playing a hunting game, hunting each other back and forth. They somehow act a little like grown children. Though, that's not because they are red Indians contrary to what some humans would think – Hook's pirates act like grown children too. In Neverland, people never grow up. Even if you had a body of a man… You can never grow up in Neverland.


	2. Chapter 1: Teach me how to hunt

Men, women, and children cheer as Tiger Lily dances in front of the fire, moving in harmony with the both fluid power and passion of the flames and the rhythm of the drums. Shadows dance on the tents thanks to the magnificent bonfire they created in honor of their capture of the Piciedye bird. People join in contributing to the rhythm and atmosphere with the varying sounds from their feet, hands and their voices. The crowd parts as the chief rises from his seat, making his way to the bonfire and then promptly breaks into an impressive display of fast and intricate footwork – while with his hands crossed, maintaining his fearsome, stoic face. The whole camp was on fire. The cheering swells as Tiger Lily takes her bow at the podium. Still shallowly breathing from her showcase, she takes in the sight of the ecstatic people dancing around in the light.

She really enjoyed these festivities, this one in particular – she was proud of her people for capturing such a magnificent creature. The Piciedye bird had sleek, blood red and golden feathers that never faded which they liked to use for dye and decoration. They were also extremely rare, reproducing only once every two decades. The birds were not even native to their island, one or two occasionally wandering of their migratory path. Catching one was very rare and very impressive. She was never really impressed when the men brought back a lost boy, they were too easy. She once managed to bring one lost boy, one that looked like a skunk, back to their camp without the use of force at all. He thought she looked pretty and just decided to follow her, promptly getting 'captured' (and then released) upon reaching camp. Although, she doesn't actually have the right to say that given the fact that she hasn't had any experience with actual hunting, both with lost boys and birds. She wishes she did though. Her father would never allow that, or at least, will not allow anyone to teach her or bring her along. She pushes that thought aside and joins the dancing once again, contributing to the festive shadows.

The night was far from silent, even with the end of the festivities. Frogs croaked loudly, joined by a chorus of very annoying and persistent cicadas and crickets. Tiger Lily turns in her bed for the tenth time in five minutes. She tugs at her clothes and swipes at her hair which had clung onto her skin thanks to the sweat that coated her body. She tosses her blanket off herself in frustration… Perhaps as little air would help. She listened for any sign of movement. Subtle movements of trees and a small animal that seemed to have ventured in their camp. No human footsteps or signs of movement. Everyone in her tribe had passed out after dancing non-stop around the fire. The overdose of special smoke might have something to do with their state as well. Unfortunately for Tiger Lily, these events made her restless instead of tiring her out. She reaches for the flap of her tent and looks around once more, before finally stepping out into the cool night air. She stays on that spot, arms outstretched, reveling in the comfort of the night sky and the passing breeze. Absentmindedly kicking stones along the way, she strolls towards the center of the camp setting her eyes onto the empty fire pit. There's something about fire that really enchants her.

A shadow fleets past a tent. Startled awake, Tiger Lily rubs her eyes in confusion. _What was that? _The fire is out, there shouldn't be any light or shadows. Yet she sees a faint glow emanating a few of the tents. That must be why there was a shadow. She narrows her eyes, warily taking a soft step towards the light. It gets dimmer – the light was moving. With a newfound urgency, she follows the light stealthily, not wanting to wake any of her people unnecessarily. The light finally stopped; her eyes widen upon meeting the source. Tinker bell's light was illuminating a red headed boy with his hands grabbing at the cage that contained the magnificent bird. Before she has the time to gasp, Peter flies over and covers her mouth. She glares at him. Somehow that was enough for Peter to lower his hand. Tiger Lily looked at Peter, then the bird. The boy looked slightly embarrassed. 'Tootles really wanted a feather from the bird. It's the only one missing in his bird feather collection'.

Tension releases its grip on her body and Tiger Lily smiles at the thought of Tootles – he was the lost boy who wore a skunk jumpsuit and nods in understanding. Still she feels an odd sort of heat emanating from the now extinguished bonfire that the people celebrated around, and then puts her hand on the cage and speaks,

"I… can't let you have it".

Tinker bell blinked at her in surprise, as if she expected her to give in – no one could blame Tinker bell… that's just what girls did for Peter.

"My people earned it – they've been hunting this bird for a week".

Peter grins and draws a bunch of not so complex shapes onto the ground with a stick he just picked up, "I've been planning on how to steal a feather from your camp for quite a while too, so I think I've earned a feather too."

Tiger lily just holds her gaze, unwavering. Peter takes this as a challenge, he doesn't blink. Staring contest game. The lost boys loved that. He was always won. She just stares at him. Peter feels his eyes brimming with salt water. Then, Tiger Lily's eyes crinkle, immediately accompanied with laughter. Of course, she blinks in the process, making Peter scrunch his nose at her – she lost, but he didn't feel like he won. "What's so funny?"

Tiger lily reaches her hand into the cage and then swiftly and painlessly plucks a feather from the bird. "you just want a feather?"

'Oh! Well uh…'

Peter hesitated. Better a feather than nothing. He didn't really want to anger the princess. Not that he was scared of her. It was something else… he didn't really know what. 'Yeah! Just a feather will do! Heh thanks Tiger Lily, Tootles will be so happy!' He jumps towards the sky, flying in a loop before flying over to give her a hug.

She momentarily moves her arms to hug him back, grazing his sides, but instead puts her hands on his firmly on his shoulders to push him back. She pauses searching for her words and looks at him in the eye. Peter makes a mental note that this girl did not take staring contests seriously and was about to protest playing the game but was interrupted by a silent intake of breath. She didn't want to stutter 'The feather is yours on one condition.' Peter looks at her bewildered. 'Teach me how to hunt my own birds'. With that Peter chuckles, grabs the feather that was now within reach, winks at the startled princess. 'Deal!'

* * *

She hears a shuffle in the leaves and opens her eyes. Catching movement in the corner of her eye, smiles and speaks to the trees to her west 'I was starting to think you weren't going to uphold your word.' She grabs her a bow and arrow she's prepared and stands.

'hmph, do I look like a pirate to you Tiger Lily?' Peter teases and jumps off a branch, slowly landing onto the grass on the open field. Panicked, Tiger Lily, runs and tackles him into the trees. 'They're back from hunting today, you have to hide!' Peter laughs and rolls away from under Tiger Lily. He pokes at her. 'You underestimate me'. She scoffs at him, 'No you underestimate us'.

Peter ruffles his hair, in attempt to get rid of the leaves entangled in it. 'Whatever you say, Tiger Lily – try to keep up!' Tiger Lily rolls her eyes and maneuvers herself carefully but as quickly as she could through the forest.

That is, before Peter decided she was going too slowly. He swoops down and then offers his hand.

'Come on, Let me give you a lift – we need to reach there before dawn'

'It's okay … I can walk' Tiger Lily waved her arm to keep Peter at a distance. She wanted to learn how to hunt, not to be shown how Peter Pan goes around catching birds. She tilts her head to the side, indicating Peter to continue leading the way and then jumps over a large tree root. Peter sighed, there was no way she was going to willingly let him carry her. His flying was much faster than her careful hiking. He wanted to bring her to his favorite beginner hunting spot – but it was only a beginner hunting spot if they arrived in the early morning. Too bad the two of the boys still had the hog flu – he had to leave Tink with them, much to both Peter and Tink's dismay. Her pixie dust would have been very useful right now. He winces as Tiger Lily's foot snags on a vine, her crashing into the leaf litter surrounding the tree. Without a moment to lose Tiger Lily snaps back up, dusting herself discreetly – or so she thinks, as she marches on. Peter chuckles to himself, "…If you say so Tiger Lily …"

_To be continued_


	3. Chapter 2: A Mother is

By the time they reached the spot, the sun hung brightly in the sky. The birds were wide awake now, it was not exactly a good time to learn how to hunt. "That one wasn't even facing you!" Peter doubles over in laughter, only to double over once more after recovering, experiencing an elbow to the rib. He stifles a groan as grabs at his middle. So he could try to be quiet when it's at his expense, how nice. He quickly adds "Okay okay that was my fault, I was making noise… I'll stop laughing".

* * *

A rock cuts through the air and lands on the ground with an empty thud. Missed again.

She closes her eyes in disappointment before scanning the trees for another bird.

A blue one! She almost didn't see the blue bird among the blue flowers.

She keeps still, like Peter said, no sudden movements.

Her arm trembles very slightly under the pressure to keep it perfectly still, she steadies with the target in position, and releases her stone with impressive accuracy. Apparently not with enough speed.

The stone merely grazed the bird. She didn't account for its sudden movement.

She groans in exasperation, hands hanging by her sides in defeat. Peter swoops down from the tree, "Hey", he turned towards her, "Chin up, you look better that way". Her eyes momentarily meet his with grateful surprise before she glances, slightly to the left, a little embarrassed at the unexpected compliment, and at her slip up in the infamous confidence she was known for. Collecting herself, she nods "Thanks, Peter". He grins, successfully boosting his student hunter's morale, before disappearing into the tree tops to give her the space needed to simulate a proper hunt.

The sun continues to travel west across the sky very slowly. As the sky faded from blue to orange, so did Tiger Lily's resolve and demeanor. The calm, and the patience the princess seemed to embody slowly gave way to frustration.

Aim, steady… and a miss.

Chin up, move on.

Another empty thud.

Again. Don't tense. Steady. Breathe.

Steady, steady, and another miss.

Finally, a stone connects with a large bird in its chest.

Peter looked at her, in an odd expression of relief, disbelief and excitement, "You did it!" Tiger Lily staring at her game, almost cries in happiness. She turns around toward Peter eyes gleaming with happiness and pride, only to get the air knocked out of her as Peter hugged her. She doesn't push him away this time, even allowing her arms to wrap around him as well. She feels blood rush to her cheeks. Must be the adrenaline from a successful hunt. So that's how that feels.

Peter lets go first, "Come on, let's go see what you got" Approaching the stunned bird, she stops in her tracks. Her eyes linger on the distinctly jet black but demure beak, familiar brown feathers and plump legs – it was a Turopei. Her mother used to cook it all the time when she was younger. She felt a lump swelling at her throat.

"You okay?"

Suddenly aware of his presence, Tiger Lily clears her throat,

"Oh yes! … Do you think we could cook it?"

She couldn't bring it back to the camp, they might catch on that she was hunting. Tiger Lily couldn't let that happen, they can only know when she's good enough – good enough that they would feel like it would be wasting potential food not to go with her.

"Well it's too much for just the two of us, wanna have early dinner with the lost boys?"

She gratefully nods. Peter tentatively puts his hand on her shoulder,

"you sure you're okay?"

"I just miss someone… "

"oh…" Peter didn't know what … _missing someone_ felt like.

Her mother was not something she wanted to bring up – not just to Peter, to anyone. She took a silent breath, and tentatively patted the hand on her shoulder,

"don't worry about, come on, I bet the boys are pretty hungry"

With a slight smirk he raised his eyebrows and retorted,

"You do know they knew how to hunt? I thought them as soon as I could!"

Once again, she jokingly rolls her eyes and then with a head start, she cuts through the forest

"Try to keep up Peter, no flying allowed this time!"

With his competitive spirit riled up he sprung forward, "Last one there's a rotten egg!"

* * *

"All I wanted was to get some sleep!" A plump boy whines, voice cracking. A giant club hurls through the air, followed by Cubby barreling towards Nibs. With impressive reaction time Nibs dives out of the way, just as Slightly tackles Cubby to the ground. What started as a plea to keep quiet so that Cubby and the twins can sleep became a full out brawl.

Where was Tink it the midst of this? Well during all the previous fights she tried to break them up; Pulling at their ears and tails, and hitting them with a flurry of kicks… but all that came out of doing that was humiliation and a couple of very painful limbs. Nope. She was not going out there to get swatted at like a fly. Enveloped in her hollow shelter of tree root with the leaf sealed shut, she continues tinkering on a new object of hers with a thimble in hand, drowning out the screaming children.

"Ahhhh!" Slightly screamed as Cubby bit his fox tail.

"You baby! There's nothing in that tail!" Cubby blabbered, hitting slightly over the head with his club.

Slightly enraged, tackles Cubby on the floor.

Cubby with brute force flips over while flinging Slightly onto the table, which along with the china on top of it, breaks.

"Hey! Break it up, break it up!" Nibs shouts at the two before pulling rug from under the both of them in frustration.

Both fall landing flat on their faces.

They both turn against Nibs.

"AHHHHH" Nibs dodges before flailing his arms wildly at both of them.

Tootles and the twins glance at each other before diving towards them, pulling at Cubby and Slightly's limbs.

Suddenly there was a hurricane of rabid animals, destroying everything in their path. More glass shatters on the floor, a giant riiip, more clutter of wooden furniture-

"What's going on here?" The lost boys freeze in their tracks.

Their eyes fall Peter who looked none too splinters and shattered glass covered the floor. Furniture was upturned, some were in pieces. The boys tense as Peter stares at the mess appalled – he looks like he was about to shout at them.

"Tink!" No response. "Tink!" He marches over to her personal hollow and flips open the leaf. Inside, the pixie was busy tinkering with the cotton balls usually on her shoes; in her ears. She gasps as she sees Peter, flustering to get the cotton balls out of her ears while flying out of her personal pixie hollow. Her eyes fall onto the mess the boys created before she throws her hands at her face.

Peter's face softens, "Aw come on Tink, don't make me look like the bad guy". The pixie peeks at him through her cupped fingers. She flies at Nibs and pulls at his ears, promptly stomping her feet in the air when he doesn't budge. Peter scrunches up his face, "You know, at this rate we're gonna have to have less adventures!" The boys collectively apologize, eyes averted to the floor. "Well, what are we waiting for? Let's just clean this up boys". He had too good of a day with Tiger Lily, he didn't want to ruin in with a temper tantrum. Without turning towards the pixie, he says sternly, "We'll talk about this later, Tink." She doesn't like the sound of that. With that she darts out an opening in the treehouse, so fast her pixie dust trail almost didn't appear. Well. So much for wanting to avoid a temper tantrum. What follows in an awkward silence; Cubby steps forward to break it when they hear a scuffle from above.

Peter's eyes widen, "and we have a visitor today! She brought dinner! Wait here."

"We have visitor?" the fox child eyes the entrance suspiciously

"We have more DINNER?!" that came from Cubby.

"A GIRL?!" "A girl is coming for dinner?" "Why?"

No answer, Peter had already flown out the entrance.

* * *

Tiger Lily traces the bark of the seemingly lifeless, barren tree. She was sure this was where Peter stopped – no sign of a treehouse on top of it though. If there was, it would be a ridiculous place to put a treehouse. The tree had no camouflage. It had no leaves and the surrounding trees almost seemed to keep their distance. She wrapped her arms around herself as she felt her body begin to shiver – it was already evening.

"Looks like the rotten egg has finally arrived"

Tiger Lily whips her head towards his voice. Peter was leaning on a tree bunch, a smug look on his face. She crosses her arms, "hmph, you cheated" Peter just chuckled, "Do you wanna eat or not?" Tiger Lily sighed in resignation. She met her match when in came to pride. She turned away from him before asking the obvious, "Where are we supposed to be eating?" The shuffle of leaves behind her prompts her to look back – but he was gone again. Peter pops out of a little burrow near a tree root, "Come on!" Grabbing the game she had set down on a large tree root, she crouches down, and then holds on to the ground surface as cradles her catch on her other arm. Her legs dangle into the opening before her toes tentatively meet the floor.

"Hey it's the princess!"

The lost boys scramble over each other towards Tiger Lily.

"What are you doing here Princess Tiger Lily?"

Tiger Lily smiles and them brightly, and gestures at the bird. "I brought dinner since Peter taught me how to hunt".

* * *

And so this became a fairly regular occurrence. Tiger Lily would sneak off into the woods telling her Father that she would be meditating to practice hunting. Sometimes she would do so with Peter, sometimes even visit the boys at the tree house; but only sparsely, she couldn't risk getting caught with them when her people were hunting the lost boys. Dinner was more or less a onetime thing, she always returned at the sound of her father's bird call whistle – it was not particularly loud, but the birds start yelping when they hear it, it will always reach her. She always looked forward to hunting with the lost boys and Peter though, she always performed better around Peter. More than that, she felt more uplifted around him, even when they were arguing. He didn't need to know that though.

Or at least, she thought he wouldn't need to know that.

* * *

"A Mother? What's Mother?"

"Why Peter, a mother, is someone who loves and cares for you and then tells you stories"

"- good! You can be our mother!"

Two birds with one stone! Maybe losing his shadow was a blessing in disguise. It allowed him to talk to Wendy, and to find out that it was her last day in the nursery. By bringing her back with him, the lost boys and the rest of the people in Neverland can keep having their stories and someone can care for the lost boys when they're sick! That's something Tink couldn't really do anyway – she just wasn't the motherly type. Yes, bringing this girl, Wendy would be the right thing to do. She was also kind of pretty and quite charming with how much she babbles. "Come on!" Peter calls out to her and takes her hand in his, as he did before for Tiger Lily. Off to neverland!

_to be continued..._

(p.s. don't worry this is headcanon, like the movie, john and michael will be going to neverland with wendy, the chapter just happens to end here)


End file.
